● Mr Dan Taylor

 The Executive Secretary of MindFreedom Ghana, non-governmental or­ganisation, Mr Dan Taylor, has called for concerted efforts to protect Mentally Chal­lenged Persons (MCPs) across the country against increasing human rights violations.

At an event to commemo­rate this year’s Mental Health Day in Accra on Tuesday, he described the incidences of human rights violations as a ‘crisis’ despite provisions within the Mental Health Act 846, 2012 which guarantees the rights and freedoms of mentally ill persons.

“Human rights violations unfortunately continue to negatively impact mental health. Abuses including shackling, flogging, forced fasting, chaining and detain­ing people in obscure places continue to affect treatment of persons with mental health conditions in Ghana and has come under intense interna­tional scrutiny.

Having good mental health is a universal human right and everyone deserves to live in an environment where mental health is protected to ensure a healthier and more inclu­sive world for everyone,” he urged.

On the theme; “Mental Health is a Universal Human Right”, this year’s WMHD pro­vides an opportunity for peo­ple and communities to unite in improving knowledge, raise awareness and drive actions that promote and protect everyone’s mental health as a universal human right.

Mr Taylor noted that hav­ing a mental health condition should in no way deprive a person of their human rights or to exclude them from deci­sions about their own health.

He called for increased sensitisation and advocacy among all stakeholders to change ill attitudes and raise awareness on the rights of people with mental health conditions across the country.

“People with mental health conditions should be able to file complaints in cases of human rights viola­tions. There is no gainsaying that mental health services need to be linked to services and support in the communi­ty, enabling people living with mental health conditions to access educational, employ­ment, social service and hous­ing opportunities on an equal basis with others.”

The promotion of human rights in mental health, according to the Executive Secretary further called for increased investment in mental health at the national level.

“The depth of neglect of mental health over the years means that the government needs to dedicate more of the health budget to mental health and establish the men­tal health levy in line with the mental health policy.

Government should also place modern psychotropic medicines on the Essential Medicines List and place it under the National Health In­surance Scheme (NHIS) while making sure that mental health workforce at each lev­el of the health care system were developed and trained to ensure that all people have access to good quality mental health services that promote recovery and respect for hu­man rights,” he advocated.

 By Abigail Annoh